Airplane



July 7, 1925.

C. L. WEAVER LMRM-ANB v July 7,` 1925.

C. L. WEAVER AIRPLANE Filed Aug. 4, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 7, 1925.

C. L. WEAVER AIRPLANE Filed Aug. 4, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 C LWEm/ER,

. Patented July 7, 1925.

tion proceeds,

'hingedl UNITED STATI-:s

l1,544,787 PATENT OFFICE.

CHALMERS LAMAR WEAVER, OF'ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

. AIRPLANE.

, Appucatin nlednugust 4, 1924. serial No. 729,968.'

To all whom z'tmay concern."

Be it known that I, CHALMERS L. WEAVER, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the county o,f St. Louis City and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Airplanes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanyin g drawing. y

The present invention relates to airplanes, and aims to provide novel and'improved means for mounting and controllingthe wings in order to facilitate ascent and descent, and to obtain a braking action, p

' 24 which 1s feathered or sphned on a shaft especially when landing.

With the foregoing and view, which will be apparent as the descripthe invention resides in the construction and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes can be made within the scope ofwhat is claimed, without de parting from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the irnproved airplane.

- Fig. 2 is a plan View thereof.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary bottom View.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view manual control for the upper, wings and elevating rudder.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view, on an enlarged scale, showing the mechanism for. controlling the lower wing.

The airplane, in general res ects, is of conventional biplane form, an comprises the body or fuselage 10'have the lpropeller 11 at the "forward end driven by a suitable.V

engine 12.

There are two upper wings 13 atvthe opposite sides of the bodv, and the lower wing 14 extends across the bottom of the body to the opposite sides, said wings being connected with the body at their forwar edges to swing upwardly and downwardly about transverse axes.

Thus, the wing 14 is secured at its forward edge to a transverse shaft 15 journaled in suitable bearings carried by and connected to .the body 10, and said wing 'is provided near its rearedge with sleeves 16 movable on rods 17 which are curved about the shaft 15 as a center. The upper ends of the rods 17 are secured to the body,

and the lower ends thereof are connected apart of the landing other objects in showing the to the axles of the wheels `18 constitutingV gear, and braces or stays 19 connect the axles of the wheels and the shaft 15. The rods 17 and stays 19 are arranged in hairs, witha wheel 18'between each pair, as seen in Fig. 3.

The wing 14 can be swung downwardly for increasing the angle of incidence, or for obtaining a braking action when landing, or to avoid collision. For this purpose a segment l engages a worm 21 connected to a bevel gear 22 adapted to be engaged alternately-by a air of bevel gears 23 mounted on a sleeve y2O is secured to the shaft 15 and 25 which is driven by the `engine 12. The

the lever in opposite directions, the gears by swinging 1:

23 can be alternately brought into'engage- Y ment with the gear 22, to turn the worm 21 in opposite directions from the engine. ThuS,: by Controlling the lever 26, the operator can connect the worm 21 with the engine forxturning the worm in the proper.

direction to either lower or raise the wing 14, and when the wing moves to its extreme upper or lower position, the worm can keep turning without'moving'the 'wing further. Also, when the wing is in an intermediate position, and the lever 26 is moved to neutral position to disconnectithe worm 21 from the engine, the segment 20 will be in its intermediate position.

Each upper wing 13 has its forward edge secured to a shaft 30, and said shafts are in alinement with their adjacent endsconnected by aswivel joint 31 which couples the shafts together, permitting each shaft to turn 'relatively to the other shaft. shafts 30 are journaled in bearings secured to the body 10, and suitable struts and braces can be used for holding the shafts 15' and 30 in position relatively to the body 10.

Therusual elevating rudder 32is connected to the rear end of the body, and a con-L trol is provided for simultaneously controlling the wings 13 and rudder 32 for ascent,

The

.locked bythe worm to maintain the wing llO' descent and lateral balance. The control includes a frame 33 having trunnions 34 mounted in the body for the forward and rearwardly swinging movement of the lframe about a transverse axis, and wires 35 are secured to the upper and lower ends of the frame 33 and to the upper and lower arms 36 secured to the rudder 32. Said wires are crossed. A lever or control stick 37 is fulcrumed, as at 37 between its ends, to the frame 33 to swing transversely, and a wire or cable 38 is secured to the upper arm of the lever 37 and passes around pulment of the lever 37 will control the lateralv leys 39carried'by the upper corners of the frame `33, the ends of the cable or wire 38 being connected to upper arms 40 secured to the two shafts 30. A cable or wire 41 is similarly secured to the lower arm of the lever 37 and passes around pulleys 42 carried by the lower cornersv of the frame- 33, and the ends of the wire 41 are connected to lower arms 43 secured to the shafts 30.

When the lever 37 is moved forwardly and rearwardly, it will swing the frame 33 likewise, which will control the ascent and descent, whereas the lateral swinging movebalance. Thus, when the lever 37, having the handle at its upper end, is swung for- -wardly, the wire 38, is slackened, and the wire 41 is pulled rearwardly, thereby raising the wings 13, whereas the rudder 32 is swung downwardly, to cause the airplane to descend. When the handle of the lever 37 is moved rearwardly, the wire 38 is pulled toswing the wings 13 downwardly,

rllhe steering rudder 44 connected to the` rear' end of the body 10 is connected by wires 45 with a foot lever 46 mounted in the I- body to be operated by the feet of the operator, for steering the airplane.

Having thus described the invention,

what is claimed as new is 1. An airplane comprising y a body, a lower wing extending under the body to opposite sides thereof, a pair of upper wings at the opposite sides of the. body, said wings being hingedly connected with the body, means for swinging the lower wing downwardly and upwardly, and other means for swinging' the upper wings either in opposite directions or in the same direction relatively to one another.

2. An airplane comprising a body, a"

wing hingedly connected with the body; means for Swingin said wing downwardly and upwardly, am? a landing gear secured to the body and including rods curved about the aXis of the hinge of said wing, the wing having portions slidably engaging said rods. A

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my l signature.

CHALMERS LAMAR WE AVER. 

